Regardless of what the Ten Great Sects were thinking, the yaos were still on the move. Recently, yaos had begun to appear in places protected by the Ten Great Sects, digging up graves.
Sometimes, the disciples of the Ten Great Sects who were patrolling outside would even encounter yaos from the yao clan head-on. The yaos would then leave nonchalantly under their watchful and wary gazes.
After such incidents happened several times, the disciples of the sect who went out would pretend not to see even the yaos that did not do evil, and they maintained an awkward peace with each other.
There were also deep mountains and old forests near Wangshu Pavilion, so it seemed unsurprising when the four disciples of Wangshu Pavilion who were out on patrol encountered the yao in a mountain pass.
“Oh, my.” Aunt Jiao, wearing a red skirt woven with gold thread, looked at Zhang He, who was leading the group, and Jiu Hui and the others with a smile. “Hello, everyone.”
Zhang He gripped the sword in his hand tightly. “Why have you come here, Your Excellency?”
“Oh, my clan had an incompetent predecessor who enjoyed drinking human blood. He was buried nearby, and I came to avenge the innocent humans who died at his hands.” Auntie Jiao was extremely beautiful, and her smile was full of charm. “I didn’t mean to bother you all. I’ll leave after I scatter his ashes.”
“Feel free to do as you wish, please feel free to do as you wish.” Zhang He knew that they were no match for this beautiful female yao, so he smiled ingratiatingly. “Do you need our help?”
If you can’t beat them, join them. As long as you don’t take their lives, everything is negotiable.
“You’re a sensible young man.” Aunt Jiao’s gaze swept over Zhang He. “If you’re not at ease, you can come with me.”
Zhang He gave Jiu Hui, Zhi You, Chang He, and Luo Yan a look, signaling them to walk behind him. “Your Excellency, please.”
Aunt Jiao ignored them. She waved her wide sleeves, and countless hazy glows rose from the dense forest. Finally, these glows converged into a winding long line, pointing to somewhere deep in the mountains.
“If you are curious, follow me.” She rose with the wind and flew deep into the mountains.
The five members of the Wangshu Pavilion immediately followed, with Jiu Hui and Zhi You trailing behind. Jiu Hui used the sound transmission technique to say to Zhi You, “I didn’t expect the merman clan to also have such useless ancestors.”
Zhi You：“……”carpreads.pages.dev
He had always thought that the term “useless” was used to scold juniors, but he never expected that in the yao clan, it could also be used on seniors.
The female yao flew extremely fast. Zhang He even suspected that if she hadn’t been intentionally taking care of them, they wouldn’t have been able to catch up with her at all.
Thinking of this, Zhang He’s sword-wielding hand broke out in a cold sweat. The opponent’s strength was unfathomable, and even he was no match for them.
He wanted to warn the four juniors to be more careful, but when he turned around, he heard Luo Yan complimenting the beauty of the female yao’s skirt with Jiu Hui, while Chang He was squatting on the ground digging up a wild ginseng plant, and Zhi You was helping to tie a red string around the ginseng.
There was simply no sense of vigilance!
“The grave you’re looking for is right here?” Zhang He felt that these four juniors were a bit embarrassing, but he couldn’t criticize them in front of the female yao.
“It’s indeed here.” Aunt Jiao’s gaze slowly moved forward, finally landing on the small mound of earth beneath Chang He and Zhi You’s feet.
Zhang He seemed to understand something. He looked at Chang He, who was digging for ginseng with his butt up, and his old face turned red.
Ever since he joined the Wangshu Pavilion, his face often flushed red.
“No rush, let the children finish digging up the ginseng.” In front of the Wangshu Pavilion crowd, Aunt Jiao acted as if she didn’t recognize Jiu Hui and Zhi You, not sparing them a second glance from beginning to end. “This ginseng is fifty years old, and it grew on the grave of a ten-thousand-year-old great yao, so its medicinal effects are better than ordinary ginseng.”
Zhang He wanted to say something but stopped himself.
This female yao was truly good-natured, allowing human cultivators to dig for ginseng on her own ancestral graves.
“Many thanks, Senior.” Chang He dug out the ginseng and thanked Auntie Jiao with a big smile.
She was so beautiful and had such a good temperament. She must be a good yao.
“No need to be polite, everyone please step back, I’m going to dig up the grave.”
Everyone from Wangshu Pavilion retreated in unison. Then, they saw the female yao wave her wide sleeves, and the ground beneath her feet trembled as a huge crack opened up, from which a jade-carved coffin lid flew out.
“There are actually quite a few good things buried with him.” The female yao walked to the side of the crack and took a look. She took all the funerary objects and casually threw out four magic weapons to the four juniors of Wangshu Pavilion: “Here, the children can have a share too.”
“Thank you, Immortal.” Chang He accepted the magic weapon and saw that it was actually a top-grade magic weapon. He cupped his hands in salute and thanked her repeatedly.
Jiu Hui put away the storage ring that Auntie Jiao had thrown at her earlier and secretly smiled. She followed her Senior Brothers and Sisters in flattering Auntie Jiao.
Zhang He’s emotions were extremely complicated. He had lived for over a thousand years, but this was the first time he had ever seen a yao distribute the burial objects of its ancestors to cultivators. He realized that he had seen too little of the world.
Before he could finish sighing, he saw the female yao gently close her five fingers, and a skeleton in the jade coffin floated into the air. The skeleton had a human body and a fishtail. Was this… a merman?
In the blink of an eye, the corpse turned into dust in the mountain wind, merging with the flowers, trees, soil, and rivers in the mountains.
“You guessed it right, I’m from the merman clan.” Aunt Jiao seemed to know what Zhang He was thinking. Her willow-like eyebrows creased slightly. “You used to be from the Jiutian Sect. Your previous sect master still owes me a box of pearls.”
“Oh, that’s not right. It should be the one before the last.” Aunt Jiao sighed. “When people die, their debts are cleared. Now, this debt has become a bad debt.”
“I’m, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Zhang He blushed again.
“Why are you blushing? He owed me something.” Aunt Jiao smiled. “You’re a member of Wangshu Pavilion now. What does it have to do with Jiutian Sect?”
“The matter has been resolved, so I should go. Everyone, farewell.” Aunt Jiao looked at the crowd. “Be careful when you go out. Don’t worry your elders.” After speaking, she disappeared in a flash of light before anyone could react.
Jiu Hui knew that Aunt Jiao was speaking to her and Zhi You, so she and Zhi You kept their heads down and didn’t dare to make a sound.
“This beautiful female yao is truly generous, giving away a top-grade magic weapon so easily.” Chang He watched as the female yao left. “No wonder the yaos have been appearing frequently lately, but haven’t clashed with the Ten Great Sects. It turns out they’re this generous.”
“This yao intentionally let us find her,” Zhang He said. “With her cultivation, it would have been easy for her to avoid us if she wanted to.”
His expression was grave. “More importantly, she knows a great deal about the cultivation world. She even knows that I was once an Elder of the Jiutian Sect and that I have now joined the Wangshu Pavilion.”
Jiu Hui’s eyes flickered, because she was the one who had spread these rumors.
“Oh, right. The beautiful _yao e_ven knows about a small sect like our Wangshu Pavilion.” Luo Yan pondered for a moment. “I know!”
Everyone looked at her and asked, “What do you know?”
“In our cultivation world, a traitor has emerged!” Luo Yan crossed her arms over her chest, her face full of seriousness. “Don’t you agree?”
Jiu Hui and Zhi You exchanged a silent glance. “Yes, that’s possible!”
Only those who harm the cultivation world were considered traitors, so she and Zhi You didn’t count.
On the way back to the sect, some peach blossoms in the mountains had already begun to sprout flower buds. Zhang He suddenly sighed, “March is coming again.”
March was the month when Immortal Lord Fuguang would infuse spiritual power into the Ten Great Cauldrons. Every time this happened, he would be overcome with shame.
“Well, the peach blossoms will soon bloom.” Zhi You caressed the magic weapon that Aunt Jiao had given him. This magic weapon was very rare. It could calm the mind and relieve pain.
He understood in his heart that this magic weapon was specially prepared for him by Aunt Jiao. Perhaps the elders of Shanghuang Village had long known his true identity.
After March began, the figures of the yao gradually disappeared in the mortal world, and the people of the Ten Great Sects knew that this was the result of scattering the ashes of the evil yaos buried in the mortal world.
On the day the Ten Great Immortal Cauldrons Formation was activated, the sky suddenly became overcast with dark clouds. The vast expanse of black clouds seemed as if they were about to pour down from the sky, burying everyone on the ground.
Streaks of light shot out from Fuguang Mountain in all directions, adding a touch of brightness to the gloomy sky.
Qiu Hua stood on the mountain peak, looking up at the spiritual light in the sky, and sighed.
Without the puppets’ surveillance, he was still suffering the same excruciating torment as in previous years, channeling spiritual energy into the Ten Great Immortal Cauldrons.
-—–
“Master, I feel a little uneasy.” Jiu Hui helped the drowsy Zhi You lie down on the soft couch and said to Yu Jing, “It feels like something big is about to happen.”
Yu Jing’s expression was grave. “The protective formation of Taolin City has already been activated, and the sect’s protective formation has also been activated.” She turned her head to look at Zhi You and handed the sect master’s token at her waist to Jiu Hui. “You go to Fuguang Mountain.”
“Master!” Jiu Hui said, looking at the Sect Master’s Token in her hand, “I…”
“You are my disciple, and as your master, I will naturally stand by you.” Yu Jing smiled. “Rest assured, we are still here in Taolin City.”
“Alright.” Jiu Hui flew into the air, looked down at Wangshu Pavilion beneath her feet, and flew towards Fuguang Mountain.
“Senior Sister.” Elder Mo and Elder Xi emerged from behind the screen, their expressions grave. “We’re a bit worried about Jiu Hui going alone. Why don’t we…”
“If you go, she’ll have to worry about taking care of you.” Yu Jing took out a quilt from her storage ring and covered Zhi You on the couch. “She’s still young, but she’s very sensible. Don’t worry about her.”
Elder Mo looked at his Senior Sister’s hand clutching the corner of the quilt, her knuckles turning white. He forced down all the unease in his heart.
Among them, the one who was most worried was probably the Senior Sister.
-—–
The Fuguang Mountain, devoid of puppets, was deathly silent. As soon as Jiu Hui stepped foot on the mountain, she noticed that Fuguang’s spiritual energy was scattered, as if something was recklessly absorbing the spiritual energy.
“Fuguang!” She pushed open the door of the Immortal Cauldron Formation and saw him sitting cross-legged at the heart of the formation. Countless tiny wounds appeared on his body, and the blood stained his snow-white robe with mottled patches.
“Don’t come over!” Fuguang opened his eyes, his voice somewhat weak. “The Ten Great Immortal Cauldrons are about to collapse. The spiritual energy transmitted by the formation can’t be contained by the Immortal Cauldrons.”
For years, the Ten Great Cauldrons had been gigantic storage devices. Every March, the spiritual energy that Zhi You transmitted could sustain the operation of the cauldrons for a year.
But if something happened to the Immortal Cauldrons and they couldn’t store the spiritual energy transmitted by Fuguang, then as soon as Zhi You’s spiritual energy stopped, an unimaginable disaster would occur.
“Heavenly Tribulation…” Jiu Hui understood. She took out the Sect Master’s Token her master had given her and sent a message to the Ten Great Sects. She also sent a message to the yao and demon clans, then stepped into the formation without hesitation.
The Qi of Extreme Evil from the Demon Clan, the Chi Quan from the Zhenyao Prison, the evil yao that rose from the dead, these were all methods of the Heavenly Tribulation’s descent, but they were all stopped by her, so now it was finally the turn of the Ten Great Immortal Cauldrons.
The ten great sects had exhausted all means to refine the ten immortal cauldrons previously, yet it was not a life-saving last effort, but the final death knell.
“This formation…” Seeing Jiu Hui step into the formation, Fuguang’s eyes turned red with anxiety. “Don’t!”
“Only I can stay inside this formation for a long time. You will die!”
“Shhh!” Jiu Hui placed her hand on Fuguang’s pale wrist. “I’m not one of those ten useless sect masters. I’m… the young master of the yao clan!”
She took out countless spiritual treasures and magic weapons, as well as some bones of unknown origin. These items emitted a strong spiritual energy, and the colorful spiritual energy poured into the formation. Fuguang instantly noticed that the Immortal Cauldron Formation had stopped absorbing his spiritual energy.
“These are…” His eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Jiu Hui, who was safe and sound before him. After a long while, he dared to blink gently, and tears streamed down his face.
“Why are you crying?” Jiu Hui gently wiped away the tears from Fuguang’s eyes with her fingertips. “I won’t die, and I won’t let you die either.”
“These are all good things that the Grandparents, Uncles, and Aunts dug up when they were digging up the evil yao’s tombs.” Jiu Hui took the opportunity to pull Fuguang out of the Immortal Cauldron Formation. She stood outside the formation and looked at the formation that was emitting a faint light: “When I stepped into the formation, were you very scared?”
That day, when they met in the deep mountains near Wangshu Pavilion, Aunt Jiao took the opportunity to give her these things while distributing the magic weapons.
Fuguang held Jiu Hui’s hand tightly, his hands trembling.
“When I pushed the door open just now, I was as scared as you were.” Jiu Hui threw a few more things left by the evil yaos into the Immortal Cauldron Formation. “This world is not your responsibility alone. It belongs to all living beings, and it is the responsibility of all living beings in the world.”
“These evil yaos reveled in doing evil when they were alive, so using them to temporarily stabilize the Immortal Cauldrons can be considered putting waste to good use.” Jiu Hui looked at the colorful spiritual energy lights in the sky. “Even if your constitution is special, you can’t compete with these old bones.”
Moreover, some of the corpses still had the spiritual essence of resurrection.
The Heavenly Tribulation wanted to resurrect the evil yaos to wreak havoc on the mortal world, so wasn’t it normal for her, the fated rebel, to use their bones to provide spiritual power for the Immortal Cauldrons?
When this matter was settled, she would set up an altar to burn incense, expressing her gratitude for the generous gift from the heavens.
-—–
“Huh?!”
Whether it was the human race, the yao race, or the demon race, all of them looked up at the sky and let out puzzled sounds.
This year, the spiritual light from Fuguang Mountain changed color?!
“Something’s happened.” Qiu Hua’s expression changed drastically. She turned to Pingling Yao and said, “Nephew, take all the disciples to protect the people. I’m going to Fuguang Mountain.”
“This disciple accepts the order!”
All these years, the spiritual energy that Immortal Lord Fuguang had transmitted had never been this color, unless… the person transmitting the spiritual energy had changed from Fuguang to someone else.
-—–
“Mother, where are you going?”
“I’m going to Fuguang Mountain.” E’nuo removed the pearl and jade hair ornaments from her head, and left the land of the demons in a stream of light.
Countless streams of light surged towards Fuguang Mountain.
Author Note:
Little Garlic Chive: As you all know, I don’t like heart-wrenching tragic dramas…
Little Garlic Chive: I am the young master of the yao clan. Our yao clan has just dug the evil yao’s graves, so if we are not careful…